Lost Love
by elenniel
Summary: Oishi Syuichiroh lost his love once. Will he find it again? Oishi x OC
1. Prologue

Oh my, it's been _so_ long since I updated here! And longer still since my last PoT fic. (_Double Story_).. In any case, I was interested in writing stories for some of the other characters in that, but never got very far with any of them... And with job hunting and adjusting to working life and all, I didn't have as much time or energy to indulge much in writing. Anyhow! I've managed to kick-start this story, so here it is - Oishi's story. :)

It takes place in the same "universe" as _Double Story_, but although it's better if you've read that one before, it's not necessary to have read it before this.

To readers of _Double Story_ (I wonder if you're all still out there? *looks around curiously and sheepishly* ), just FYI: the main story takes place quite a number of years after _Double Story_, although the (Short) prologue here is set a couple of years before DS. ^^

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**Lost Love**

_**Prologue**_

Oishi didn't believe in love at first sight, but it was certainly _like_ at first sight when he saw her in the library. She was standing in the anatomy section, flipping through a book, when he saw the book he wanted on the shelf just above her head. He said a polite "excuse me" and moved to take it.

She apologised profusely and stepped out of the way for him.

He smiled and assured her it was all right, retrieved his book and went off to the table where his friends sat. But he wondered who the girl with the long lashes was.

A week later, he had almost forgotten about her, but then he ran into her again. This time, she was with a friend of his from the Student Representative Council, who came to look for him to pass a message from the council president.

"Oh, you know each other?" Maruyama Sachiko said, seeing the expressions of recognition on both faces.

"No, not really. We just met briefly in the library last week," he answered.

"Ah. I guess it's my duty to introduce you two properly then," she joked. "Oishi-kun, Yamada Miyuki of the pharmacy school. Miyuki, Oishi Syuichiroh. Would-be doctor and the most frantic worrier on the council. At the rate he goes on, he'll have grey hair when he's thirty or something."

And that, he supposed, was where it began. Sort of.

He saw her occasionally after that. Usually when she was with Sachiko in university, and several times when they were on group outings with mutual friends. But he didn't see very much of Yamada Miyuki until one semester later, when Sachiko started bringing her along more often to their outings with a few of the other council members. Gradually, he began noticing other things about her – the soft brown eyes, the straight dark hair that was always pulled back in a neat ponytail, the way she dove into her studies with dedicated focus, and her fierce loyalty to her friends. At about the same time he started to wonder what her hair would look like loose around her shoulders, his friends started to kid him about showing symptoms of that most incurable of diseases.

------

The more Miyuki saw of Oishi, the more she liked him. She wondered how it was that a guy like him had no girlfriend. He was, to all appearances, good at heart – and had the most startlingly _kind_ eyes. Sure, the green colour was unusual enough, but the kindness in them was what struck her.

And then at one point, she noticed that he seemed to be looking at her more, talking to her more. It gave her a little thrill.

"You _like_ him," said Sachiko one day, after she commented that Oishi was a really nice guy. "That's not an accusation or question, by the way. That's a statement."

Miyuki had been too flustered to deny it.

It all came to a head at the next summer festival when they went to see the fireworks. There was a huge crowd gathered to see the fireworks, and it was tricky staying together in a group. At one point, Miyuki suddenly found herself separated from the group – she seemed to have lost them in the mass of people.

Before she could decide whether to call them and find out where they were or to look for them, someone caught her hand and pulled her along. She turned and saw Oishi.

"They're over there," he said, smiling. "Come on."

He took only a few steps, weaving through the crowd easily, to reach the rest of the group. She thought it was rather ironic that they were actually quite near her; just that she had lost sight of them in the throng.

"Oh, Miyuki! There you are!" exclaimed Sachiko. "I figured you might have lost us when that other group just pushed their way through. Jerks." She cast a withering glance in the direction of a rowdy group of teenagers a little distance away.

Miyuki didn't have a chance to say anything, because the first fireworks went up at that moment. Within seconds, the sky was glittering with green and gold and red sparks. There was some clapping, cheering and a good deal of oohs and aahs from the watchers.

Then she realised that her hand was still in Oishi's. She missed seeing the next few fireworks because she was staring dumbly at their intertwined fingers. His hand felt warm…

Oishi suddenly seemed to become conscious of the fact that he was still holding her hand and hurriedly released it, looking terribly embarrassed.

"Ah… Er… S-sorry," he stammered, before turning back to the fireworks.

Miyuki stared at him for a while. Then she silently took his hand again. She felt warmth of a blush as she did that and turned her gaze resolutely up to the showers of purple sparks in the sky from the last big explosion. So she didn't see his stunned look when he felt her take his hand. Nor did she see the myriad expressions that flitted across his face when he looked at her.

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_I hope you're still reading? ^^ If you are... I'm so relieved! Frankly, am a bit worried I've lost my touch... Anyway, off you go to chapter 1!_


	2. Chapter 1

**Lost Love**

**_Chapter 1_  
**

The roads were fairly deserted by the time Oishi got home. He opened the front door as quietly as possible so as not to wake his family. It had been another long day at the hospital with some of his young patients being more moody and fidgety than usual. He wished he could just collapse on the bed without changing his clothes.

After taking a bath, he dried his hair with a towel as he walked downstairs to the kitchen to fix himself a warm drink. Sitting down in a chair a few minutes later with a cup of hot tea in his hands, he felt distinctly more relaxed. He turned the cup in his hands, observing it idly and trying not to think of work. The cup was white with a blue pattern around the middle and near the base. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

It was one out of four cups in a set. The other three were on the shelf as well. They had been a gift from Sachiko and Miyuki for his birthday. He glanced towards the other cups then back at the one in his hand. Running his thumb over the rim, he wondered how both were. Sachiko was in Hokkaido with her husband and had been there for some years already. It had been a couple of months since her last e-mail. But that was natural, since they all led such busy lives. And Miyuki… How long had it been since he'd heard from her? Two years? Maybe more, he wasn't quite sure.

_Aa-aah. No point thinking useless things_.

He finished his tea and went to the sink to wash it.

"_Ojichan_(1)?"

Oishi turned around at the voice. He saw his twelve-year-old nephew at the kitchen doorway, rubbing his eyes.

"Shuhei," he said. "What's up? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I keep waking up."

"Worried about your test tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

Oishi picked up his cup again and gestured for his nephew to sit down. He filled the cup with warm water and gave it to the boy.

"Here. Drink up and then it's back to bed with you. It'll be worse if you go to school like a zombie. I hear zombies aren't too good at tests."

The boy gave a little chuckle at that, and Oishi noted how Shuhei's laugh was so like Chiyo's. He waited for Shuhei to finish and then sent him back to bed.

"Quietly, okay? Don't wake your mother."

A sleepy nod, and then Shuhei left the kitchen. Oishi wondered vaguely whether the storeroom could be converted into a bedroom or not. The kid was bound to start wanting his own room and some privacy soon. The three-bedroom house had been just right for Oishi, his parents and his sister, but with Shuhei around, it was starting to feel a little inadequate. Of course, there were many families who were crammed into smaller homes and apartments than their house, but if it was possible, Oishi thought it would be nice for Shuhei to have at least a small room of his own instead of having to share with his mother. Or perhaps he should move out and the boy could have his room.

He turned off the kitchen light and went upstairs.

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When Oishi got to the hospital the next day, he got ready to make his usual rounds in the children's ward. He liked doing the rounds – it was a chance to interact with the children, who more often than not were delighted to see him. Some of his colleagues said he had a natural rapport with kids, but he personally felt it was nothing more than just being as happy to see the children as they were to see him.

There was one in particular lately that he had grown very fond of really quickly. Murakami Ren was ten years old, bright and cheerful. The boy had come in with appendicitis and had been in the ward for about a week already. Ren was technically his colleague's patient, but Oishi liked to pop in and chat with the kid anyway, having discovered that he was often lonely during the day as his parents were busy with work and having no other close relations in Tokyo, he had to be left alone at least until office hours were over.

He eventually came to Ren's room – third room down the left corridor on the second floor, number 221. Knocking and then opening the door, he found Ren sitting up and watching television, a story book open on his lap.

"Are you reading or watching TV?" Oishi asked with a grin.

"Both," answered Ren. "_Ohayo_."(2)

"How are you today?" He pulled up a chair to the bedside as he spoke; only pausing to flick some link off the seat.

"Okay. _Okaa-chan_(3) left at eight just now."

It was already almost ten. "Ah, not so very long ago. Why aren't you still sleeping? There's no one to force you to wake up. That's the good thing about being in the hospital, you know. Most times no one is going to make up wake up unless there's something urgent to do," joked Oishi.

"I was having nightmares about Erika-_obachan_(4) trying to hug and kiss me again. She's great, but it's just… yuck!" said Ren with half a squirm and half a chuckle.

"Why are you suddenly dreaming about your aunt?" laughed the doctor.

"Maybe because _okaa-chan_ said that they're visiting today – Erika-_obachan_ and Sei-_jichan_."

"Ah, I see. Well, you probably won't be squashed too hard since you're in the hospital and recuperating from an operation now."

"Yea, right! You don't know her!"

Oishi laughed again as he got up from the chair beside the bed. "Maybe I'll drop in later and then I'll meet her. I have to go continue my work now."

"Come at five – that's when they're supposed to be coming. Will you still be here?"

"Mmm, I should be, I think." He looked at Ren and smiled. "I'll try and drop in if I don't have anything important to do then."

But it was almost six by the time Oishi was free to drop in at Ren's room before he left for home. He wondered if Ren's terrifyingly affectionate aunt would still be around or if it would only be Ren's parents.

When he got to Room 221, he heard voices inside. For a moment, he wondered if he should just go home and let the kid have time with his family. _Ah, but I already said I'd drop by_, he thought. He decided to just pop in, say hello and then make a move so as not to disturb them too much. So he knocked on the door and entered.

There was a woman standing beside Ren's bed with her back to the door. Upon his entrance, she turned around.

Oishi froze mid-step.

Almost involuntarily, his lips moved. "Miyuki."

She let out a small gasp. "Syuichiroh?"

It was almost a whisper, the way she said his name, but he heard it. And it instantly dredged up old memories – memories never forgotten, only dormant. Memories that had been put away and kept in mind and heart for almost eight years.

Ren's eager "Oishi-sensei!" quickly brought him back to the present.

"Ren." He smiled in spite of his dazed feeling and walked towards the bed. "Where are your parents?"

It took about half a minute for Oishi to make out the situation from what Ren told him. Ren's parents would only be coming later with his other relations, but "Miyuki-_bachan_" was in town and had decided to drop by first. "And," said Ren, "that's my cousin, Mari!"

Only then did Oishi notice a small girl holding Miyuki's hand. It occurred to him that she looked quite like Miyuki. A sudden thought struck him. When he turned his startled, questioning eyes on Miyuki, she merely nodded and said, "This is my daughter."

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Oishi went home with a raging headache and Miyuki's face burned afresh into his mind. He hadn't realised how much of an impact seeing her again would have on him. When he first saw Miyuki standing there in Ren's ward, heard her speak his name again… he thought he was in a dream.

Then a thunderbolt called Reality had cut through his dreamlike state. Miyuki was – had been – married. It didn't entirely surprise him, and yet... Why, she even had a child! Miyuki's husband, Ren's uncle, had died in a car accident the year before. And three-year-old Mari was quite the image of her mother. In spite of himself, Oishi was hardly able to stop himself from thinking, _She could have been_ my_ little girl_.

It was a long time before Oishi fell asleep that night.

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**Notes:**

(1) _ojichan_ = uncle

(2) _ohayo_ = hello / good morning

(3) _okachan_ = mom

(4) _obachan_ = aunt

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_So... I hope you enjoyed it thus far! ^^_


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